We'd Remember Tonight (For the Rest of Our Lives)
by Asher Monroe
Summary: Bonnie was certain there were a million other people she and Damon would rather face the end with besides each other. What happened next managed to prove them both wrong. How it ends will change everything they thought they knew. Bonnie/Damon -Chp Two Updated-
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Surprise! LOL so those of you who haven't read _What Lies Beneath_ will be all what's the surprise. However those that have will know I'd gotten way burnt out on Bamon and hadn't really expected to write anything else them for a very long while. Well the 5.22 finale sparked this little gem so please read, comment and enjoy! I expect there to be only about 4 to 5 chapters. Not sure when I will update again as I'm writing 2 other things but we'll see. :)

Chapter One

Bonnie opened her eyes and found herself slumped against the side of a dirt caked mausoleum, the same one where many scary and funny moments had occurred during her time in Mystic Falls. Her head felt heavy and slightly dizzy but so far she wasn't having any issues focusing. She knew with crystal clarity that she was more or less home, or at least the place she'd called home for seventeen years. It was hard to think of it as such considering what she'd been through recently. Still at least she was back among the living.

She could smell dirt and wild onions nestled between blades of thick summer grass. She could hear the sounds of birds singing happily and small animals rushing about the brush. Everything appeared nice and quiet but that tended to be deceiving. After all it had been a nice and quiet night when she and Damon Salvatore had officially died; stood hand in hand as the other side literally ripped apart at the seams. She could still feel the cold wind lashing across her face as the white light got so bright it threatened to burn her eyes out. Neither of them could have imagined what would happen next, not in a million years.

And yet here they were now back in Mystic Falls. Somehow.

_Now comes the hard part_.

Exhaling deeply, she blinked away hazy images caused by the shining sunlight and glanced around. "Damon?"

A groan sounded from the bushes and she chuckled as Damon struggled to get to his feet, slapping at the skinny branches that stuck to his clothes. He'd recovered quicker than she had—which was to be expected, he was a vampire after all—though he stumbled when he noticed her slumped, legs stretched out.

"Hey, you okay?" Immediately he was at her side and caressing her cheek, thumb brushing across the apple. "Where does it hurt?"

She shook her head. "I'm fine. Just the effects of coming through I suppose. I'm a little weak."

He nodded and sat down in front of her. "We'll chill a few before heading into town. Hopefully Markos' spell died with him and I don't burst into flames while dying of a gunshot wound."

She smiled wryly. "We've been here for about two minutes and nothing has tried to use me to cross over so I think we might _both_ be in the clear. I think I'm a witch again."

Damon hummed. "Good. That will no doubt come in handy more than the anchor crap." Sighing, he rubbed the back of his neck and glanced up at the sky. "Wonder what day it is here? Hell, wonder what month it is? What if everyone is gone?"

_All good questions_. "Then I guess we could try to find them. They deserve to know we're back—that we're safe."

His intense blue eyes turned soft. "That things are different…?"

She wet her lips. "Yeah. Not a conversation I am looking forward to having but it's the right thing to do."

He grunted. "You chicks and you're _doing the right thing_. No one respects me for my utter love of doing whatever the hell I want."

Chuckling, she reached up and pulled an errant leaf out of his silky black hair. "Enzo did. Perhaps you should have dated him."

Grinning, he grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles. "If he's still around I'll proposition him. You can watch and direct."

Bonnie laughed and it felt good to know she still could. That traveling back to Mystic Falls hadn't automatically dampened the progress they'd made when they were…wherever they had been. Specifics were dodgy but obviously her Grams had done something to save _her_, something that Damon was able to hijack by them holding hands. At the time she'd joked about wanting to be with anyone else but in reality Damon had been a sort of anchor for her. Just knowing she wasn't facing oblivion alone made it a little easier.

It made everything afterwards a little awkward, well, until it wasn't anymore.

Her relationship with Damon had never been easy and all of the bad blood between them had only managed to become a low simmer because situations called for them to be civil. Their last day together consisted of him mildly threatening her with a fire poker, something he'd never apologized for. Not that she had expected it. Things like that became so small in the grand scheme of what they were dealing with on the other side. The _other_ other side.

Though there was a grain of worry blooming in her heart now that they were home. "Damon, we're going to be seeing Elena soon and—"

He pressed a finger to her lips. "Stop. Don't go all weird on me okay? You don't bring up the E word and I won't bring up the _J_ word. Fair enough?"

Rolling her eyes, she slapped playfully at his hand. "We're going to have to deal with whatever we find. They are going to have questions and we have to fill in the blanks."

"We will. But that doesn't mean we have to have some kinda crisis beforehand." He stood and brushed off the back of his dark jeans. "We hooked up—anyone who didn't see that coming wasn't paying attention. I mean all the hate sex we needed to get out of our systems alone could have had us shacked up for a few months. Doing it while stuck in some odd paradise world makes sense." Lips stretching into a smile, he held out a hand and helped her up when she clasped it.

It made sense to her too but she doubted anyone else would think so. "I take it you wanna do all the talking, then?"

Damon tilted his head to the side. "If you want to rip the band-aid off as quickly as possible, then sure. But Bonnie you're coming at this from the angle that they've been crying into their alcohol since we've been gone. For all we know Stefan and Elena are together again and Jeremy—well maybe Jeremy took a run at Matt." Pause. "They had a lot in common. For starters being dumb as two boxes of very dumb rocks."

She snickered, leaning into him for a comforting hug. "I'm nervous."

Tucking strands of black hair behind her ear—she'd kept it cute and short while gone—he kissed her forehead. "I'm…curious. What happened wasn't our fault so they can't be _that_ angry. We saved everyone we cared about and went out like bosses. If we walk into town and there is not a giant statue of us I'm gonna be pissed off."

Bonnie snorted but was amused. She threaded her fingers through his, a gesture they had repeated many times since that night and gave him a little tug. "Come on. Let's see the state of things."

Naturally he let himself he pulled along.

If she had to classify her relationship with Damon she would say that they were serious about each other. You didn't go through a traumatic experience like _dying_ _together_ and come out still wanting to slap each other. Okay so sometimes she did want to slap Damon but that was because he was _Damon_, and going to another dimension had not dampened his sarcastic sense of humor one bit. But what was once annoying was now sort of comforting in an odd way. She knew what to expect from him and there was no more fear he would let her die to save someone he thought _more_ important.

_Except for perhaps Stefan but that's okay because Stefan is his brother_.

Stepping over small fallen limbs with rocks crunching under the shoes, they made their way through the woods towards the camp ground area where people usually parked when a party was going on. They walked in a relaxed silence, both more or less lost in their own thoughts. They didn't know what was waiting for them at the Salvatore mansion, or if they could even make it that far. First and foremost Damon wanted to see Stefan and make sure he was alright. Next he would probably check on Enzo since Alaric was no doubt flourishing and back to playing father figure to the Gilberts.

Hopefully the whole gang was okay. The thought of anything else un-nerved her as did the idea that their sacrifice had been in vain.

As they reached the edge of the woods to step out onto the highway, Bonnie bit the inside of her cheek. "How do you feel?"

Damon slowly stepped onto the concrete and looked from side to side, touching his stomach. "Normal." He stuck his hand into a beam of sunlight. "I guess the spell went poof when the Travelers did too."

Relief washed over her. "That is _so_ good to know. It means the others could have a life here again."

Smiling, he took a moment to flex his fingers and make one hundred percent sure, his daylight ring glinting in the light. "Seems like it. As long as it's not on a delay."

"I don't see why it would be. It was nearly instant last time." Bonnie crossed over the ditch and patted his shoulder as she continued past him. "I think bringing people back from the dead is the biggest thing I've ever done."

"And the stupidest but we're had this argument before." He pointed out cheerfully. "Now that we're back you're not gonna revert back to that, right? Throwing yourself under the bus for us."

"No." She whispered. "I'll help but not if it puts me in serious danger."

"And it only took dying twice for you to get there." Winking, he slipped an arm around her shoulders. "I won't give you too much of a hard time since we _are_ some of the most careless people on the planet."

_He_ _is_ _not_ _wrong_. There was no danger where they were before. Not like in Mystic Falls with Originals and hybrids and Travelers all vying for a piece of them. It had been peaceful—almost like Heaven but without actually being so. Now that they were back she planned to research other universes to perhaps find some answers to her many questions. Really she knew only Grams could explain what miraculous thing she had done but of course that wouldn't be happening. Grams and Lexi were at peace and she wouldn't change that for the world.

Oddly enough she also wouldn't change her new circumstances with Damon.

Anyway it was a bit jarring to make it to the town square and find the _Grille_ an ashy burnt out shell surrounded by yellow tape. People were going about their days like everything was fine but she had assumed it would be rebuild by now. Though it did appear as if construction was about to start soon. She wouldn't be too surprised to learn they were taking their time; bad things tended to happen in the _Grille_. Maybe letting it die wouldn't be such a bad idea.

There were no familiar faces as Damon and Bonnie continued on though the Sheriff's squad car was parked in its usual place. Sheriff Forbes had survived and that was wonderful, one of them deserved to still have a parent with an actual beating heart. At the thought of her parents a deep sadden settled in the pit of her stomach and she gave it a slow rub, praying her father was at peace. That he wasn't judging her for the choices she had made and continued to make. He would have hated Damon…he wouldn't have understood their connection. And she wouldn't have blamed him because vampires leaned towards bad more than they leaned good.

Yes he'd talked to her mom when magic was getting the best of her but that had been a different story altogether. _I wonder did anyone tell her I was dead. Jeremy or Caroline might have though I kinda hope they didn't_.

"Should we live in the mansion? It's probably pretty damn crowded with Alaric, Elena, Jeremy and Stefan. Hell I wouldn't be surprised if Enzo is squatting there too."

Damon's voice brought her back to the present. "Oh, well where else would we live?"

His grin was trifling. "I could compel a real estate agent to give us a house. Or I could kick all those freeloaders out since I _am_ the oldest which means technically it's mine."

She laughed. "No, that would be mean. We'll figure out the details after we get settled. I should still have a house unless someone sold it. I wonder where all my stuff is. Clothes and everything."

His brow rose. "Huh. I haDn't thought of that. Obviously whatever spit us back here didn't either. Thanks a lot for that by the way!"

Shushing him, she stifled a yawn and made a face. Had it always taken this long to get to his house? "First on the agenda is a car. I don't want to walk everywhere."

Damon massaged the back of her neck gently. "_That_ I can take care of pretty quickly. Even with me dead I doubt Stefan would get rid of my car. It's vintage. And if he did I'm stealing that red one he loves so much."

Sounds like a plan. "Long as there is a big back seat."

"Oh I love it when you talk dirty."

"Shut up you know what I mean!"

"Yes that you want me to take you in the back seat of a fancy car."

"Heh yeah, no. By the way we won't be breaking any beds anytime soon either."

"Never say never Bonnie. We can do anything we put our minds to."

Bonnie huffed but couldn't stop the smile that curved the corner of her mouth. Sometime she was pretty certain Damon's quick one liners had been the only thing keeping her sane when neither of them could make heads or tails of their new surroundings. Deep down he had been worried but he'd covered well. He'd went head first as they explored and tried to find a way out, keeping her behind him just in case something jumped out at them. Protecting her because, well she was all he had and vice versa.

She could remember watching him go to great lengths for Elena and being sort of…charmed by it. Especially in the latter days when killing random people wasn't on his to do list. Secretly she had wished to have someone like that someday; someone strong enough to withstand whatever life threw at them. Jeremy hadn't exactly been like that. Strong yes but there was just a stark difference between him and Damon Salvatore. Not necessarily a bad one but different. She would not have _ever_ tried to take Damon from Elena—attempting it would have been impossible anyway—but not that she had him it was hard to think of a time when she didn't.

Damon was an all in type of guy. It made sense; he had been all in with Katherine for more years than she had been alive. She supposed she just never expected him to be _all in_ with her, seeing as how she didn't have Katherine's face.

_But that makes it even better, doesn't it? I know he wants me for_ me _and not who I remind him of. I don't remind him of anybody._

Rounding a sharp bend in the road, they trooped around it to see the wide front yard of the mansion come into view. The bushes and flowers were in bloom—it all looked pretty and perfect as usual—like nothing bad could ever touch the place. So many houses and buildings in Mystic Falls tended to get destroyed but the Salvatore house never did. If she didn't know any better she would think there was a protection spell around the place.

Walking up to the front door, Damon exhaled before rapping his knuckles loudly against the wood. Bonnie's heart was racing rapidly in her chest to the point where she could see it thumping underneath her skin. She had that unpleasant rumble in her stomach, her limbs prickling like they had been asleep for a long time. She supposed she had nothing to worry about—there was no danger here, hopefully—but she couldn't help that her emotions were spiking. In truth she felt as if she were about to shake apart at the seams.

The door opened rather slowly, and there was Stefan all sad eyes and chiseled cheekbones. Handsome Stefan whose eyes widened almost comically at the sight of them standing there, like he couldn't really believe it. He practically gaped at them before kicking himself into gear. "What—how—how are you here right now?"

Damon smirked at hm. "Oh you know me brother, where there is a will there is a way." And then he was pulling Stefan forward for a hug. "See? Solid and everything."

Stefan clutched at Damon's shoulders and searched his face for a lie before hugging him back, tight enough to make Damon wince. "I can't believe you're here." A beat. "Damon I am so sorry that—"

Damon shook his head. "Hey, it's okay. Whatever you have been beating yourself up over it's okay. I said I would bring you back and I did."

Stefan frowned. "Yeah and you _died_ doing it."

Damon shrugged. "If I can't die for my baby brother then who can I die for?"

Visibly touched by the sentiment, Stefan hugged him again. "Still I would prefer it if you didn't do that again." Noticing Bonnie, he smiled turned away from Damon to hug her too. "And I supposed you—" His sentence cut off abruptly. "Bonnie? What—"

"Stefan?" It was Elena. "Who's at the door?"

She stepped into view and all of the color drained from her pretty face. Her big dark eyes stretched to the size of saucers and she walked over step by measured step as if afraid the ground would swallow her up with one wrong move. Her hand was shaking when it reached out and touched Damon's chest, fingers dragging up to his face. Tears immediately dampened her lashes and a low sob sounded before she flung herself at him, wrapping her arms tight around his neck.

It wasn't exactly the reaction Bonnie had expected but she went with it because grief was a funny thing, and it affected everyone differently. Some people just didn't move on as quickly as others.

For his part Damon just smiled and whispered soothing words against the side of her head. Let her cling to him for as long as she needed because he understood the moment and what it meant. Their parting had been intense but utterly one sided; a good-bye to thin air on her side. A denial of closure really.

When she pulled back she cupped his cheeks in both hands and just _looked_ at him. Shallow breaths escaped her throat and although more tears came she started to smile. It broke across her face and honestly Bonnie defied anyone not to smile along with her. She knew how she would feel if she could be reunited with her father, how the relief and contentment would push itself out of her pores.

"Is this real?" Elena asked. "Are you really here?"

"Yup." Damon clasped her wrists, giving them a squeeze. "Hi."

She gave a wet laugh. "Hi to you too." Pause. "How—Bonnie? Oh god you're here too!" To her credit she looked just as happy to see her best friend and there was another round of hugs to give. "What happened? We heard Jeremy screaming for you and then you just disappeared." Blinking, she jerked back as if burned. "What's going on? What is…"

Bonnie kissed her cheek. "We uh, we have a lot to talk about. Is anyone else here?"

Stefan folded his arms over his chest. "Alaric and Jeremy are inside. Caroline and Enzo went into the woods to hunt."

Damon snickered at the mention of his friend's name. "Trying to convert Enzo to your squirrel diet? How is that going?"

Stefan was serene as he replied, "As well as can be expected. Maybe he'll actually listen now that you are back." Taking out his cell phone, he typed quickly. "I'll tell them to come back so that we can all talk."

Elena furrowed her brow. "Tell them to hurry. I want to know what's going on."

"Yeeah I'm gonna need a drink for this." Weaving around them, Damon headed into the house and into the study where they kept the alcohol. That was where he found Alaric and Jeremy lounging, both of them jumping to their feet at the sight of him.

"What the hell?" Jeremy balked. "Damon? Is that you?"

Damon swirled his Scotch before taking a healthy gulp. "Yup. Not dead anymore. Oh and neither is Bonnie. Right, sweetheart?"

Rolling her eyes, Bonnie offered up a rather timid smile upon entering the room. "Hey guys."

Jeremy was in front of her in a second, strong hand gripping her shoulder with enough pressure to bruise. His lashes were fluttering as if he were fending off tears. It was the sudden kiss however that made her completely speechless. A sound press of his lips to hers that he seemed reluctant to break. It was sort of the first clue that perhaps everything wasn't as cut and dry as she and Damon had thought.

"Are you okay? How are you back? What happened? Where did you go?" Jeremy had _a lot_ of questions for her.

Not that she blamed him.

Squeezing his hand, she moved over to the couch and sat down, her feet grateful for the reprieve. She toed off her shoes and dug her heels into the carpet, letting the cool air take a bit of the edge off. Damon brought her a glass of water before flopping down beside her, and she sipped a few times as her mind calculated the looks everyone was giving them.

"I'm glad you're back, Damon." Alaric leaned against the table. "Drinking's not the same without you here to dare me to take just _one_ _more_ _shot_."

"We can get back to that anytime you want." Damon teased. "Though seeing as how the Grille is still fucked up I suppose we'll have to import."

"Bonnie!" Caroline rushed into the room like a firefly and made a beeline for her friend, taking the seat on the other side of her. "Oh my god! You're really here! This is amazing and so great and… Why is everyone looking like their dog just died? Bonnie and Damon are _alive_! We should be celebrating."

Enzo cleared his throat as he swaggered in. "Might want to hold off on the festivities, Blondie. Happy as I am that he's back, I've still got a bone to pick with my former friend. Breaking your neck might settle old debts."

Damon pretended to pout. "Violence? But we _just_ sat down."

Stefan pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why don't we find out where they were before we start with the threats?"

_Yes please_. "I guess we should start at the beginning. As you guys know the other side was tumbling down and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. As the anchor when there was no more other side, there would be no more me. Damon and I basically watched it rip itself a part."

Caroline was riveted. "That must have been when you blinked out of existence. One minute you were there and the next you were just, gone. Jeremy filled us in afterwards."

Nodding, Bonnie shivered as she remembered that night, bravely facing her own demise while secretly shattering inside. "I didn't tell you guys because I didn't want to worry you. I know it was stupid but…well I always knew being the anchor was temporary. It was just a—a plug in the dam of my own mortality. I'm sorry if it hurt you. At the time sparing you seemed like the better option."

A cute frown shadowed Caroline's features. "Do that again Bonnie Bennett and I will kick your ass! When are you going to realize that you are _just_ as important as the rest of us?"

_I've missed you Caroline Forbes_. "I see that now, I honestly do. No more sacrificing myself."

Stefan rubbed his chin. "What happened next?"

Bonnie nibbled on her bottom lip as the details floated around in her brain. "Damon and I were holding hands when everything went white and we _think_ that he sort of hijack whatever crazy thing my Grams did to save me. She had alluded to doing something but I'd forgotten by the time the shit hit the fan. Anyway one minute we are watching the world explode and the next we are waking up on the grass, and we have no idea where we are."

Damon slouched. "To be fair we _still_ don't know what the place was called but it was nice. Calm. And there were houses like it was a neighborhood or something. Other people too."

"Other supernaturals." Bonnie elaborated. "Ones I guess that hadn't been sucked up into the darkness. Mostly witches."

Jeremy exhaled. "So then what happened? You lived in one of the houses or something?"

"Basically." _After a fashion_… "We didn't know where we were or how to get home so, seeking shelter sounded like a good idea. After we got our wits about us we did try to find a way back but there was nothing. It was like that was it. We think it was another dimension."

Elena tugged at her shirt. "How are you back now?"

Damon removed his jacket and tossed it over the back of the sofa. "Don't know. One minute we're having lunch and the next we're being pulled towards this glaring white hole that appeared in the middle of our kitchen. Long story short we woke up in the cemetery."

Alaric hummed. "This is pretty fascinating stuff, guys. Would you mind if I did some research on it?"

"Please do." Damon told him. "Turn over every rock and look in every cranny. Go crazy."

Alaric flipped him off good naturedly while Stefan looked thoughtful. "So you were in some sort of holding zone, like a domestic limbo. Maybe it took some type of energy build up to get you back to the land of the living. I could see three months doing that, though it doesn't explain other stuff."

_What_? "Three months? Wait—we've only been gone three months?"

Stefan shoved his hands into his pockets. "Yeah. Why?"

"It was longer for us." She cut her eyes to Damon. "A lot longer."

Before anyone could say anything else, Caroline waved a hand. "Oh who cares how long they were gone? They're back and that is all that matters." Grinning, she leaned over and drew Bonnie into an excited hug, letting out a high gasp. "Oh my god! Bonnie are you pregnant?!"

Dead silence. The room fell into dead silence and Bonnie suddenly felt like a bug under a microscope with all of the prying eyes trained on her. She thought about running but knew that wouldn't solve anything. Her friends deserved answers, especially now that they'd learned there was a huge time difference. _God things are about to get so complicated but all of a sudden their reactions make so much sense_.

Fighting for the right words, she pushed off her long gray sweater to reveal the rounded swell of her belly. "I—I am."

Caroline sputtered, "Wha—wha—how? Who is the father?"

_Ooh boy_. "Damon."

Damon grinned proudly. "Just more proof that I am not _only_ incredibly handsome but extremely virile as well."

The Gilberts were frowning so heavily their faces looked disfigured. "That's not possible," Jeremy said. "Vampires can't have children."

"Maybe _here_ they can't." Damon mused, placing his hand almost possessively on Bonnie's bump.

Bonnie pursed her lips. "We don't know how it happened."

Enzo chuckled. "I think we all know how it happened, love."

_Didn't miss that while I was gone_. "I _mean_ we don't understand the logic or biology behind it. Vampires aren't supposed to be able to have children...but somehow Damon could there."

"You've only been gone three months and you slept together?" Elena's tone was accusing. "While we were here grieving for you? Crying our eyes out and trying to think of any way to get you back?"

Bonnie got her anger and her pain so she tried to keep her own voice steady as she explained. "It was three months for you guys but it was longer for us. It was almost three _years_ for us and in that time, things changed." She scowled. "We _tried_ so hard to find a way home but there was nothing. After a while we figured we were just stuck there forever…so we lived our lives. Whatever they were."

Damon dropped the bravado. "It wasn't easy, Elena. All I wanted to do was get back to you, and keep my promise. I was an annoying little shit and I'm sure I drove Bonnie crazy with my behavior but all I could think about was you. We were there a year before I could even _talk_ about you without punching something." His free hand curled against the arm of the couch. "This thing with Bonnie didn't happen overnight."

Elena expression tightened. "But it happened."

"I don't believe this!" Jeremy growled. "This has to be some kind of joke. You two hated each other."

_Not really, at least not at the end_. "We did…until we didn't." Ugh. "I don't know what to say to make any of this better."

Elena dragged her fingers through her hair. "There isn't anything you can say. God I—when I thought about getting you guys back it was never like _this_." She gestured at them. "It was never my boyfriend and my best friend having started this new life together where I don't matter. And I—I know that sounds selfish but it hasn't been three years for me. It's been three months; three of the hardest months of my entire life."

Jeremy clenched his jaw almost painfully. "Mine too. Here we are worried that you guys just don't exist anymore or that you're being tortured, when you're shacking up."

Damon's eyes narrowed. "Did you miss the part where I said this hasn't been all fun and games? Do you think Bonnie and I didn't miss you guys? Hell, all of you. Even Enzo." The man in question snorted and Damon continued. "Leaving the people in this room _broke_ us. I didn't wanna leave you, Elena. I wanted to stay and fight with you, and laugh with you and give as good as I got. I honestly thought I would survive that night."

Fidgeting and needing to move, Elena paced a little in front of the fireplace. "Are you two…in love?"

"Yes." Damon answered without hesitation. "None of this was planned but I'm not going to lie. There would be no point. Bonnie was the only thing that kept me sane, and one thing lead to another one night."

Bonnie wanted to take his hand but she reframed, still wanting to somehow protect those she cared about from pain. "If we had known time moved differently here—well I want to say we would have addressed the situation differently. But I'm happy and maybe it sounds bad but I don't want to give this up." Lightly she touched her stomach. "I've lost everything. My dad is dead and my mom is a vampire, and my Grams is finally at peace. This baby is a new start for me. For…us."

Caroline _being_ Caroline, she sniffled but couldn't hide her glee. "Well I for one am happy for you. Damon is—okay most of the time I think he sucks but if _you're_ with him then he must have did something to gain your trust. I mean you don't just have a baby with anyone."

Damon flashed her a fake smile. "For the record we didn't plan on having a kid. We figured there was no need for protection where we were."

"I need some air." Jeremy stalked out of the room; the front door slammed moments later.

Alaric sighed and followed him. "I'll go talk to him."

Bonnie realized she shouldn't feel guilty but she couldn't help it. Never had she expected to come back to find Jeremy or Elena still pining for them. Still holding out hope that their loved ones would return and everything would go back to normal. She could only imagine how she would feel if she were in either of their shoes. Probably completely decimated and more than a little bit angry.

There was a chance this could destroy her relationship with both Gilberts forever. That thought made her heart hurt but she ultimately felt there was nothing to be done about it. Either they would all come to some sort of agreement where they could coexist, or things were about to get very dramatic. It would probably be the latter because things were never easy for anyone involved.

"So…" Caroline wiggled her fingers. "Can I touch your stomach? Are you having a boy or a girl? How far long are you?"

At the sound of Caroline's enthusiasm Elena's face went blank and she left the room. Stefan wordlessly followed her, probably to make sure she was alright. She wasn't—they all realized it.

But life went on. "You can touch and thank you for asking first. We uh, we actually don't know what we are having yet. There weren't exactly doctors over there. It was all really strange. I do think I'm around six months though."

Plastering her hands to Bonnie's tummy, Caroline's eyes lit up with excitement. "Ah that means it'll be here soon and there is _so_ much to do! You've got to let me throw you a baby shower! We can do neutral colors since you're not sure of the sex, or you could go to the doctor here, find out and we could bake the color into cupcakes!"

"I don't usually think so but you're alright this time around Barbie vamp." Damon said sincerely.

"The thought of you as a father is laughable. And you can be rest assured that I will be here to laugh at every moment." Enzo meandered over to fix himself a drink.

"Long as you're not planning anything." Damon warned. "I said I would find a way to bring you back and I did. We're even."

Enzo dropped a piece of ice into his glass. "I wouldn't go after your child, mate. I'm not _that_ far gone. Not yet anyway."

Bonnie rubbed her eyes, her energy finally starting to wane. "I think I'm gonna go lay down. That is if Damon still has a room?"

Caroline—who was now gently poking, presumably to make the baby move—looked up. "He does. Elena's been sleeping in there since he died. Sounds like things are about to get pretty crowded."

Bonnie hit her in the shoulder and then slowly pushed herself off the sofa, with a little help from Damon's hand on her lower back. "You suck."

"I'm just teasing you." Caroline hopped up and linked their arms together as they walked. "You know I get where you are both coming from. It's sort of like when Tyler left and came back, and had Haley in tow. They weren't together but I was still jealous. Elena knows you didn't do this out of spite or anything like that. She'll be okay."

_I hope so_. "Eventually, yes. Until that time she has to see Damon and I be happy together…with a baby on the way. It's going to slow the healing process a lot." They reached Damon's room and Bonnie sat on the side of the bed. "And Jeremy's too. It's like we were brought back just to screw things up."

"No that's crazy! You're here because this is your home and you have people who care about you here."

"And those same people are seriously hurting right now."

"But you didn't do it on purpose. Bonnie you're going to be a mom. I know you're excited about it, and you should be. You didn't do anything wrong by hooking up with Damon. Besides the fact that it's _Damon_. Least you get the sane version, unlike the one I had."

"Heh I missed you, Care. All things considered it's good to be back."

Caroline giggled. "It's gonna be awesome. And I'll talk to Elena for you…see where she is on the situation."

Bonnie already knew however where she was, where Jeremy was. The question though was where would they all end up?


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Thank you so much for the warm reception everyone! I was honestly floored by the response this got but also very happy! You guys are awesome. :) I had wanted this chapter to be longer so the chapter number would be shorter but when I reached a good ending I just ended it. I figured you guys won't mind if I have more chapters than I previously said. Anyway enjoy!

Chapter Two

Damon Salvatore considered himself a practical sort of man who did what needed to be done when the time arose. He wasn't against killing someone if it saved the people he cared about. He wasn't against letting someone die if it helped the people he cared about. And apparently he wasn't against dying so that those he cared about could live. Of course coming back had been the _plan_ but he knew better than anyone that sometimes plans just didn't work out. Maybe if he hadn't stopped to help Liz he would have made it back in time but, well, it was _Liz_. At least one person in their screwed up town deserved to have a parent still alive.

Anyway dying a second time hadn't been that bad. For starters there was no pain and no following urge to eat everyone in sight. Just a blinding white light and then silence for a while. He still didn't know how to explain the place he and Bonnie had called home for nearly three years, except to say that it was peaceful. A sleepy neighborhood with an innate sense that there would never be any danger or real cause for worry. Thinking about it now—details were getting fuzzy, he had no idea why—he couldn't remember if blood had even been an issue. Probably? He had to eat after all.

The truth? He was happy to be back in Mystic Falls because it was his home but he could do without all of the obvious drama on the horizon. And okay maybe it was a dick thing to think but what was he supposed to do? He couldn't go back in time and _not die_, or turn it from three years to three months so that they would sync up with everyone else. Before he would have wished he could but now? Well he was happy with how his life was turning out.

So sue him.

At least his house hadn't changed that much unless you counted all of the squatters living there now. Enzo, Alaric, Elena and sometimes Jeremy when he wasn't rooming with Matt probably caused for some interesting times. He'd been back one night and yet the noise had taken a little getting used to. It hadn't been overly loud but being a vampire with super hearing meant he couldn't just tune everything out. Such as the emo drenched conversation Elena and Stefan were involved in into the wee hours of the night. He was back from the freaking dead and _not_ a zombie—you'd think people would be planning a damn party.

Caroline's baby shower idea didn't count.

Speaking of babies…so yeah he was going to be a dad now. Before becoming a vampire he'd never really thought about kids. Figured there was time for that later in life since back then men could sow their oats for as long as they wanted and still end up with a wife half their age. Naturally as the oldest he was _expected_ to provide heirs—boys—to carry on the family name but it wasn't a secret his father would have been happier if Stefan had taken that mantle upon himself.

And then he had met Katherine and had not given a damn about sons or daughters ever again.

It was funny how once you had something you sort of realized you'd been missing it all along. Not that he spent much time thinking about kids, but now that there was one he was happy about it. Which was kinda weird if he was being totally honest. One hundred plus years being alive with most of that time spent having fun and now suddenly he was okay with settling down? Had he finally grown up?

But then well in the end Katherine had loved her daughter; had sacrificed her own life just for a few more minutes with her. If someone like that bitch could still have that type of love in her heart, perhaps he could too.

Sitting at the kitchen table with the paper open in front of him, he scanned the articles while sipping a hot cup of coffee. He had expected to come back to everything being upside down, but instead there had hardly been a dent. Most of the townspeople only knew about the Grille exploding because of a gas leak, and that several tourists had died in the blast. Oh and that some odd type of poisoning had caused people to collapse and die in the town square. They had no idea about Markos or anything else. So now they were back to doing their day jobs or whatever.

As far as he could tell the Travelers that survived left soon after Markos was killed and all he could say was good riddance. Waa waa I don't have a home…crybabies.

Footsteps sounded and he looked up to watch Alaric stroll into the room still in his pajamas, hair pointing in all different directions. It was strange seeing him again for so many different reasons. Stranger still remembering he was now a vampire and did vampire things. Seemed like a lifetime ago that Alaric was an angry hunter looking for revenge.

"Good morning, sunshine." Damon said smiling. "Coffee's over there if you want some."

Alaric nodded and headed straight for it. "Sleep well? Thought you would have still been in bed with dimension lag."

Damon hummed. "Actually I feel good. There is a lot to do anyway so no need to sleep all day. I want to get all the awkward conversations over as soon as possible."

Alaric chuckled, plucking a spoon out of a drawer so he could mix sugar into his coffee. "That doesn't sound like the I_Damon_/I I remember. Of course I've been watching your ass ever since I died so I understand how you have grown. A little. It's nothing to be proud of."

Damon laughed. "Is this your perverted way of telling me you watched Elena and I have sex?"

Alaric threw a paper towel at his head. "Asshole. I just meant—even when I wasn't there, I was." Shrugging, he sat down across from his friend. "So, how ya doing?"

Damon leaned back in his chair. "Generally or do you have a specific topic in mind?"

Alaric watched him with an amused little smile. "Hit me with all of it. We'll pretend the coffee is a good bottle of bourbon."

Grinning, Damon folded up the paper. "Apparently being back means shit has hit the fan. And I get it—I do. It was only a few months here but c'mon man, what am I supposed to do now? Pretend the last three years didn't happen for me? Or pretend I'm not in love with Bonnie? Everything is just screwed up and I got a feeling it's gonna become more so as the day progresses. So _yay_ for that."

His friend snickered. "Elena and Jeremy just need time to come to terms with how things have changed. Losing both of you at once was hard. We looked into whatever we could to maybe try to get you back; even did a séance that didn't work. Things will blow over eventually."

_That's not comforting_. "Yeah well patience has never been my strong suit. You know when we first ended up wherever we were, I was angry but there was also this weird type of acceptance that I felt. I was dead and that was it. Being able to have this semblance of a life there was fucked up but it was also…well it made things not as boring."

Alaric was genuinely interested when he said, "Tell me about it."

_Standing at the window and looking out Damon wanted to pick up the cute little mailbox and toss it into the middle of the street. Which would be pointless because tomorrow it would be back good as new and everyone would pretend he hadn't had some kinda breakdown earlier. Because it was easier to wave hello and do normal things than admit they were all living in a boxed in Pleasantville type situation. Fuck he just wanted to scream!_

_But his throat was already raw enough._

_It was cloudy today and he sighed deeply, dragging his fingers through his dark hair. It was hard to keep track of time but he figured it had been almost three weeks since dying in Mystic Falls. He couldn't help but wonder how Elena was and how she was handling everything. Was Stefan helping her or was he just as fucked up as she was? Was Enzo behaving himself? Heh probably not but maybe Alaric was helping to keep him in check. Had they started rebuilding the Grill and was Liz really okay? Shit. All he had were questions and no real answers. It was frustrating as hell._

_A door opened and closed upstairs signaling that Bonnie was awake but he didn't move away from the window. He listened as she made her way down and into the kitchen, not saying anything as she opened the fridge for orange juice and plucked a glass down from the cabinet. He could see her reflection in the glass; she was moving as if on auto pilot and it made him frown. Usually she was the one pushing him to not give up and to keep hope alive or whatever. But today she looked_/i sad i_and it made him twitch. He had problems of his own; he didn't have time to think about hers._

_And yet…Rolling his eyes, he slowly turned to look at her. "What's wrong? Chipper train run out of gas?"_

_She huffed and put bread into the toaster. "I'm not gonna fight with you, Damon. Not right now."_

_Of course that just made him want to fight more. "Oh I'm sorry do you have more_ important _things to do? Like_ not _get us the hell out of here? Or maybe there's a sale that you're dying to crash."_

_She sighed. "Whatever."_

_Damon glared at her. "You're probably enjoying this, aren't you? Being stuck here surrounded by other witches while I'm forced to tag along. I bet you think this is really funny."_

_Bonnie shook her head. "Actually I don't. But it is what it is."_

_Damon scowled. "Bullshit! You're supposed to be all smart and self sacrificing so why aren't you _fixing_ his? Why aren't you even_ trying _to get us home? You might be content to play this fucked up version of house but I'm not." Pause. "It's too quiet here. And you know our friends could be in_ real _danger. Jeremy could be in real danger. You remember him don't cha Bon? Rumor is you let him pop your cherry even_ after _he cheated on you with a ghost. Hey maybe Anna found a way back and she and little Gilbert are just having a grand old time_."

_He knew full well that he was being the biggest fucking dick but he couldn't stop himself. He needed to hit out at someone and Bonnie was the only one around. The only one that paid him any real attention because the others didn't give a shit about his issues. They were enjoying their odd slice of Mayberry paradise and didn't have time for his emo fits._

_When Bonnie didn't bite back with a sarcastic reply he folded his arms over his gray t-shirt. He wanted to push more. He wanted to push harder. He wanted to rip and tear until there was nothing left because there was nothing else he could do. He was utterly powerless and he hated every goddamn part of it._

_"You're useless." He muttered, more to himself. _

_Very slowly she put down the plate she had been reaching for and turned to face him, dark eyes brimming with unshed tears. "Today is my dad's birthday. At least there is what the calendar says so… I'd uh—I'd planned to take him out to dinner and I had bought him this hideous tie as a joke to so that when I gave him the leather date book I'd gotten him, he would laugh." She smiled but it was completely hollow, the action causing the tears to spill over and run down her cheeks. "I hadn't thought about it because so much shit happened in such a short amount of time but I looked at the calendar and remembered. I remembered he died and no one gave a fuck. I remembered he died thinking_ I _didn't give a fuck. And I—he's not here. I can't apologize or make amends…"_

_Damon dug his nails into his bicep to keep from reacting._

_She wiped at her face. "And you're right, I am useless. I couldn't save him and I didn't save us and I couldn't stop the Other Side from disappearing. So if you want me to feel bad you really don't have to say anything at all because I already do." Nodding, she exhaled and went back to her breakfast with hands that trembled._

_Cursing himself, he crossed the kitchen over to where she stood and hesitantly put his hands on her shoulders. She tensed and went still, probably expecting him to attempt to try to snap her neck or something. And he wouldn't lie; he'd thought about doing it once or twice just to see what happened. But that wasn't the case right now. Right now he made her swerve around so that he could draw her into a big hug, because sometimes Damon Salvatore actually gave a fuck._

_"Hey, you're okay. You're okay." He whispered in her ear as she shook with muffled sobs. "I'm a dick and you know that, I will say horribly dickish things from time to time but I don't really think you're useless. If not for you the darkness would have chewed my attractive ass up and I probably wouldn't exist anymore_. _And I'm sure your dad knew you cared. I think all that stuff becomes knowledge when you pass away."_

_Her tiny fingers curled into the material of his shirt. "No one even_ blinked _when Silas killed him. I know they—they were mind controlled but why is it always my family that suffers? My mom's a vampire, my Grams died helping me and now my dad is dead too. I should be in hell."_

_His brows narrowed and he pulled back so that he could see her face. Her eyes were round and green, and he'd never really noticed how lovely they were before. "What? No. Bonnie, c'mon haven't you noticed that you save all of our asses on like a daily basis? You saw how quickly things went to shit when you were dead. And once you were the anchor who did we come running to again whenever we had a problem?" He wet his lips. "Fucked up shit has happened to you and…I'm sorry. About your mom—about all of it. At least now you don't have to worry about it anymore."_

_His words mollified her a little but not enough to fix anything. But her eyes got a bit drier so he counted that as a score for the moment. "Thank you," she said softly. "You're not such an asshole after all."_

_Damon grinned. "No I am. But I do think dating Elena has made me a lot softer than I used to be. I only get the urge to kill once every second Saturday."_

_Bonnie chuckled through her sniffling. "Does that mean you've got the urge to kill here?"_

Oddly enough he didn't have it, not in the way she meant anyway. _"No but if setting something on fire caused some sort of scene I would be all for it." Sighing deeply, he tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear. "How about I try not to be a dick to you anymore if I can help it? And you remain the optimistic one cause obviously you do a_ way _better job than I do. My solution is usually booze, death or fucking. We can do two out of three."_

_Laughing, Bonnie gently shoved him away and dried her cheeks before going back to her food. "In your dreams, Damon."_

As the memory faded and Damon caught the expression on Alaric's face, he smirked. "Joke was on her."

Alaric snorted with humor and got himself a second dose of coffee. "Was that the turning point in your relationship?"

Damon smoothed a hand over his face. "Kinda. We didn't jump into bed together but I tried to be less of an asshole to her. Holding her hand was the only thing that kept me from not disappearing entirely and until that moment I hadn't realized how much I owed her. Or how screwed up she was yet pretending otherwise." Biting the inside of his cheek, he yawned. "I was still messed up over Elena but I don't know. Shit just got a little easier between us…if nothing else."

_Easier than it is here_.

Leaning against the sink, Alaric grumbled. "It'll do the same thing here but it'll take time. I don't think you should feel bad over the new life you're making for yourself. Elena would say the same thing if she wasn't so hurt. You know deep down she just wants you to be happy."

"Didn't seem that way." Damon admitted. "I can _feel_ her judging me from all the way upstairs. Also should I be worried that Jeremy is gonna try to stake me in my sleep for stealing his girl?"

"Maybe." Alaric teased. "The hunter thing has to be pushing him more than usual considering the circumstances. However I don't think he'll act since it would leave your kid without a father. Wow. You are going to be a father. How does that sit with you?"

"Sounds like fun." Damon wiggled his brows. "I think I'm old enough to capture the gravity of the situation. Besides Stefan and I don't have any real family left so this kid will be something for all of us."

"I wanted kids once upon a time. I thought Isobel and I would have them but, well, you know how that turned out. Now that I can't have them I find myself missing the opportunity more than I thought I would."

"I can relate. I never looked at a squealing brat and thought _man, why can't I have a bunch of those_? But now that I am? Okay bring it on."

Alaric's eyes got shifty for a moment as he glanced around. "I wanna go ahead and throw my hat in the ring for godfather. I am a responsible adult."

"Well that's just rude." Enzo said as he strolled into the kitchen without a shirt on. "I am _also_ a responsible adult and I've been Damon's boyfriend longer. I should be godfather."

Damon tilted his head to the side. "Now now you two don't have to fight over me. I will gladly accept bribes and gifts before I make my decision."

While it appeared that Alaric and Enzo were gearing up for a verbal sparring match, it was suddenly deathly silent as Elena rounded the corner and entered the room. In the past Damon would have pulled her into his lap or made some cheeky comment about breaking another bed, but that wasn't who they were anymore. At least it wasn't who he was with _her_ anymore and by the barely contained look on rage on her face, he figured even joking about it wouldn't be appreciated it. And like the traitors they were, both his so called friends inched their way towards the door until they were gone.

How were they going to be godfather when they were scared of one little girl vampire?

But he supposed now was a good a time as any to start clearing the air. "Morning."

Her voice was subdued as she replied, "Good morning."

_I could always leave. Let her have the house and live in a shed_. "So, seems like we have a lot to talk about."

She gathered up her long hair and secured it onto a ponytail with the rubber band on her wrist. "I wouldn't even know where to begin. I spent all last night thinking this was either some cruel joke or a dream."

He tried not to frown and failed. "Why would I joke about any of this? Especially having a baby."

Her tiny shoulders hunched. "I don't know. Damon, you have to explain to me how this happened. People don't just wake up one day in love with someone else. If it were that easy I wouldn't still be in love with you."

Damon got up with the need to move. "I suppose the basics are Bonnie and I spent a lot of time together and it changed how we felt about one another. You know how that is—how it can happen out of nowhere."

Elena hugged her waist. "I—I don't _want_ to be angry but I can't help myself. Three months isn't long enough to get over someone. Three months isn't long enough to get over _you_."

He nodded. "I know. It took me longer than three months too. If anything we should be pissed off at time moving differently. It's a fucking cop out if you ask me."

She didn't seem to find him that funny anymore. "Time can only be blamed so much for this though. Some people go years without getting over someone they have lost. It only works if—if you _want_ to move on. A part of you must have wanted to."

He considered her words carefully. There was truth to them but it wasn't that cut and dry by any means. Grief was something you couldn't escape or speed up no matter how much you tried. And he had grieved for everything he was missing in Mystic Falls until his insides felt like they were on fire. After a while things started to get a little better, and then a little better still. The pain of what he didn't have slowly began to be replaced by the simple joy of what he _did_ have and that was before he and Bonnie even kissed. The once all consuming quiet became peaceful. He realized that he was _done_; no more fighting or risking his life or always being in danger. He could _relax_ without any sort of threat looming on the horizon.

So he had.

Damon gazed at her. "No one wants to hurt forever, Elena. Moving on happened gradually and it's not something I had control over. It's like trying to stay angry when you're not really angry anymore. It's exhausting."

Elena licked her lips. "It's just weird because you and Bonnie weren't friends. You came together to help me but you weren't _friends_. Picturing how you went from that to this—I can't connect the dots."

He smiled. "Hey you hated me once upon upon time and yet we got together. I killed your brother, I killed her mom and both are okay now. More or less." Pause. "Besides does the how really matter? Would it make you feel better to hear all the gory, spicy details?"

Exhaling, she swallowed thickly. "I guess not. It's it—it's not like us right? What we had?"

Squinting at her, he shook his head. "No. What we had was passionate and chaotic. We knew we were bad for each other but we didn't give a shit because things were just too _intense_. We were addicted to each other and the drama." He placed his coffee mug in the sink. "Bonnie and I came to respect each other before anything else. There was all this bullshit between us but there was _other_ stuff that wasn't. She didn't look like Katherine, she hadn't dated Stefan and she'd never been sired to me. Those aren't necessarily strikes against you they were just checks in her favor. So when stuff happened it was…pure."

Elena's pretty face flinched like he'd slapped her before falling like she was about to cry. "And what we had wasn't?"

_Oh good grief_. "It was a different _kind_ of pure. Trust me you don't want to hear this, Elena. You don't want to hear the story of how I fell head over heels in love with your best friend. Maybe one day but not right now."

Her lower lip thankfully stopped trembling. "Fine. Let's talk about the baby. What do you know about raising kids? For that matter what does Bonnie know? How are you two going to do this? Do you plan to get married or what?"

Marriage had honestly never come up. As a forward thinking vampire he figured they didn't need some piece of paper to tell them what they already knew; that they were committed to each other. Besides legalities aside he didn't trust Caroline not to completely take over the wedding planning and turn everything into an ordeal. "Aren't kids like dogs that can talk? I heard that once. In any case we'll figure it out as we go along."

"Somehow I can't see you driving a minivan and attending PTA meetings." She responded with a sarcastic edge.

"Oh I don't know." He winked at her. "I went to them with you about Jeremy. Think how productive I'll be when I actually _like_ who the meeting is about."

"What am I supposed to do now?" She inquired quietly. "I don't think I can just _watch_ you and Bonnie have this amazing life together. She's getting everything I want. You…a family…"

Damon couldn't help but feel bad for Elena. Once upon a time he'd loved her so much that not being physically near her made him feel like his bones were being liquefied. All he had wanted to do was touch her and make her happy however he could. In a way it was sort of like with Katherine—he'd been in love with her for longer than he could remember. Even when he wasn't with Elena he'd wanted her, and after finally getting her he thought he knew what Heaven was like.

The universe telling them they were doomed to fail but a small snag.

With Bonnie it was just vastly different. It was like waking up one day and suddenly _seeing_ that person and all the extraordinary things you'd never noticed about them. And then wondering what the hell had been wrong with you to make you miss all of it?

"You can still have all of those things, Elena. Just with someone else." He told her, not unkindly. "What would you have done if I had never come back? Grieved and yeah it would have been hard but then it would have started to get a little better."

She didn't disagree with him. "Yeah but it's different now. You're not _dead_. You're alive and well and I have to see you every day. We live in the same house for god's sake."

The last thing he wanted to do was leave his home but if it made things easier he'd try to find somewhere else to live. "Then Bonnie and I can stay at her place for a while. She'll probably wanna swing by and make sure it's still in one piece anyway."

Elena winced. "I don't want to kick you out of your own home."

_Kinda seems like you do but whatever_. "You're not kicking me out. You need space and I'm _just_ in a good enough mood to give it to you."

She rubbed at her cheek. "No that would be wrong. You don't have to leave. I—I'll deal the best way I can."

Needless to say that probably wouldn't turn out well. "No you know I think it would be a good idea to have some distance for a few. Get everyone used to the idea of Bonnie and I being back, and how things are changing now."

It was clear that while Elena didn't want him to go—for whatever reasons that he wasn't going to get into—she also did want him to leave. But it was a familiar thing he'd dealt with during their relationship; that odd push and pull that always kept them in each others' orbit. She was still there unfortunately and as long as she remained civil he would try to be a nice guy about it. None of this was her fault just like it wasn't his or Bonnie's. He just hoped she didn't forget that.

* * *

Standing in front of the floor length mirror in Damon's bedroom—because he had always been vain enough to want to see _all_ of himself at the same time—Bonnie smiled at the sight of her round tummy as it stretched out her simple gray t-shirt. She had never really thought about what it would be like to be pregnant but when she was little she'd entertained the idea of having children. She and Elena would play house with their dolls though Matt would usually be Elena's husband…until he got tired and ran off to play fort instead. Being pregnant was interesting.

Watching her petite body change and grow just made the situation completely _real_ in ways it hadn't when she'd first found out. What should have been totally impossible was happening without any rhyme or reason. She was happy it hadn't left when they crossed over but she couldn't help but wonder why it had not. And was this _also_ what her Grams had in mind when she'd saved her. Probably not considering Damon was never a part of the plan.

She wouldn't lie, she was a bit terrified of having a kid and being a mom but she was also excited. She was more or less an adult now and it wasn't like she was financially not able to provide for it. She had the insurance money from her father's death and Damon was pretty well off. Not to mention whatever they needed he could compel someone to give them.

As for the emotional aspect well, she just knew she wanted to be much better than her mother. Nothing would be more important to her than her baby. Not someone else and definitely not someone else's baby. Only death would be able to drag her away and if it came to choosing between that and being a vampire, she would choose the latter.

Of course she would have to tell her mother _eventually_ but she was going to wait a while. Maybe until it was born and until she was sure her mother wouldn't eat it.

Plastering her hands to her stomach, she turned to the side and exhaled slowly. She wasn't huge—about the size of a basketball—but compared to the flatness she was used to it was a big adjustment. Not to mention her boobs were twice their normal size, though that she was actually enjoying. As was Damon but for a completely different reason.

"Hey there." She smiled. "So welcome to Mystic Falls. This is where I grew up and where your dad grew up, and your grandparents. Hopefully you'll like it here and not have to deal with any of the crap we did. As soon as I can I'm gonna make a doctor's appointment so that I can find out if you are a girl or a boy. Though I think you're a girl. The world needs more Bennett witches."

"Whoa. Caroline wasn't exaggerating." Matt lingered in the doorway, big blue eyes wide with amusement. "Or lying. You're pregnant."

Bonnie chuckled and waved him over, giving him a big hug. "Hey you. I was wondering where you were yesterday."

He grinned. "Well unlike everyone else I don't have a rich vampire boyfriend or friend to pay my way, so I was working. Luckily the Grille wasn't the only place in town that would hire me. Granted I'm doing clerical work for Caroline's mom but it's a paycheck." He looked her over. "Wow. I can't believe this is actually real. At least you waited until high school was over though. Remember Laura McCall?"

She did, quite vividly. She had been the first person in their year to get pregnant by some guy on the football team. There had been a running joke that it was Tyler but it was never confirmed. "I do and yeah I'm proud this is a college baby."

Matt laughed. "You look great though. I'm really glad you're back." He hugged her again. "Though I'm guessing things are weird here?"

She nodded. "That is an understatement. Elena and Jeremy are taking things pretty hard which makes total sense. It's just…not the warm welcome Damon and I expected. Well not from them anyway. Everyone else has been pretty cool about it." She jerked as she was socked by a tiny kick and grabbed Matt's hand so that he could feel. "Congratulations. You're the first person here to feel the baby move. Caroline might kill you though—she spent hours last night trying to make it move and it wouldn't."

Matt snickered. "Heh sounds like Damon's kid." His already huge smile grew as another tap connected with his palm. "This is amazing, Bonnie. So you're happy, right?"

"I am." She replied honestly. "Perhaps not one hundred percent now that I know Jeremy and Elena are in pain, but for the most part I'm very happy."

"Cool." He responded without a hint of sarcasm. "Tyler will probably come and visit you soon. Ya know it's nice not being the human around anymore."

_I can imagine_. "I'll bet."

"And the Quarterback has his hands all over my girl." Damon mused as he strolled into the room. "We've been back one day."

Matt arched a brow. "I was going to congratulate you but now I don't think I will. Besides she was letting me feel the baby move."

Suddenly Damon was _there_ in front of them, slapping Matt's hand to the side so that he could feel. He'd felt the baby move many times and yet the novelty of it had not worn off apparently. It was sort of endearing, especially the part where he used his vampire speed.

"Don't mind him." Bonnie told Matt. "He's still crazy."

"I can see that." Matt joked. "I'll gonna go see Jeremy but we'll talk more later." Giving her a soft smile, he wandered out into the hall and presumably to Jeremy's room.

Damon poked her in the side. "Wanna go check out your old house? Maybe crash there for a few days so the Gilberts stop looking like they've been stabbed in the chest with a rusty knife."

She blinked. "Um, okay. Did something happen?"

He sighed. "Elena and I had a little chat earlier. Nothing too bad but staying elsewhere for a while could be good for all parties involved. Unless you don't want to?"

She didn't care one way or the other. "No it's fine. If it helps them I'm all for it. And yeah I do want to check it out and make sure everything is okay."

He kissed her temple, his hand rubbing in a soothing circle as another kick flared. "Hey, you don't get a vote."

Bonnie's laughter was probably loud enough to be heard downstairs. "I think those are I'm hungry kicks. C'mon let's go and while we're out we can get a pizza."

Damon pinched her lightly. "You mean _you_ can get a pizza. I won't even get a _slice_ and we both know it."

Pretending to glare at him, she pulled away and slapped his chest. "Keep being mean to me Damon. Pretty soon you're going to be out numbered."

He put his hands on her shoulders, his expression thoughtful. "Funny enough I look forward to it…"


End file.
